GRU Prices Going Up Again

Published June 30th, 2008

For the average GRU customer, the latest fuel cost increase will add approximately five more dollars to their electric bill. But for businesses that use more energy than most homes, the increase could be significantly more.

Matthew Brownlee's Roly Poly has six refrigerators. That means a hefty bill from GRU every month.

"We have a lot of refrigerators, and then with the AC and everything it's about 6000 kilowatts per month," said Brownlee. "It's about a $1,000 electric bill."

Despite the fee increase, Bob Hunzinger, GRU's General Manager, said they won't be making a profit.

"GRU doesn't technically make a profit," said Hunzinger. "We try to break even at the end of the year and if we do we've had a good year."

Breaking even isn't as easy as it sounds though, and as a result, residents should expect to see more utility rate increases down the road.

"There's certainly an upward trend in fuel prices, and we're a part of that." said Hunzinger. "It's what we're using in the generating plants so it's very likely that we'll see increases as we go down the road."

For a business like Roly Roly, the GRU fee increase means spending an $30 per month, which means selling an extra five sandwiches each month.

Selling five extra sandwiches each month may not sound like a lot, but Brownlee says that when you factor in other rising costs like food and gas, it becomes a tall task.

"It increases my bill every month, and in turn forces us to increase prices which will be our plan at the end of the year is to go ahead and increase prices," said Hunzinger.

The average five dollar increase per GRU bill is reflective of a residence that uses 1000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. You can find out exactly how many kilowatt hours you use by looking at your most recent GRU bill.